Ryan Shaze
Ryan Shaze is the son of the Greek Goddess, Nike, the Goddess of strength, speed and victory. Ryan was an avid athlete, competing in three sports at his high school in central Pennsylvania; Football, Boxing and Track. He didn't know about his godly parentage until a few days after a Friday night Football game where he was sent to Camp Half-Blood a few hours after the game. There he met his best friend, Chris, son of Hermes, and a master thief. They both went on a quest where they met a Roman Demigod, Kara, daughter of Mars. Claiming Age: 16 The Game The ball snapped, I read the line going towards the right side of the field, the Quarterback handed the ball off to their running back. I filled the gap where the back was going into and made a hit with everything I had, causing him to fumble. I scooped it up and sprinted down field with the crowd cheering my name. Touchdown Wolverines. My coach called me over. We were down three in the fourth quarter, 4 minutes exactly left on the clock. He told me that he wanted the entire defense on man coverage, read blitz, 4-4 setup. I ran onto the field after kickoff and huddled my guys together. "Alright, coach wants a 4-4, man, read blitz. Hit on three, hit on three. One, two three!" "Hit!" yelled everyone, then they went to their positions. The offense was in a full house set, double tight ends, two full backs and a running back. The quarterback went under center, called a fake snap. Fortunately my guys didn't jump, then he snapped it, it was iso all day, I read the play and hurdled the center and destroyed the running back, hearing one of his bones crack. He didn't get up, clutching his right forearm. He was carted off the field. The second string back came in, but this time they were in a spread look; shotgun, 22 set, running back in the laser (left of quarterback).The ball was snapped, the two outside receivers went deep, while the slot receivers both did corner routes. I followed one of the slots, and the Quarterback (foolishly) threw it into my coverage. It was like he thought I was the receiver, it just came into my arms. The slot receiver tried to tackle me, but I broke it with ease. I started to sprint, I ran passed the whole line, and the only thing in my way was the running back. I let my instincts take over right there. He went low and went for the tackle, but I hurdled over him; the crowd started cheering my name as I basically just destroyed his career. Pick 6. I looked at everything, the audience, my teammates, opposing teammates, the green grass, it felted amazing. I noticed that I was glowing! Literately glowing, I looked around and saw a lady glowing as well. She smiled, as if she was impressed. But something about her expression also showed that she expected more. She disappeared into thin air shortly after. I went home after a post game interview with my local news station, wondering how a freshman managed to start all nine regular season games on the varsity team. My mom wasn't home yet since she works third shift. Even though it was just my dad and I at home, I could hear another voice talking to him, it sounded familiar, but I couldn't figure out who it was. I walked closer and I recognized the woman as the one who disappeared during the game. Who was she? She disappeared again. My dad called me in there. He sat me down,"Son, you are something special. I'm not saying that because you're a spectacular athlete, but it's because of your parentage." "You and mom?" "Diane isn't your real mother, she's your step mother. Your actual mother left when you were very young. She stayed as long as she could, but she had other things to attend to." "More important than raising me?" I was furious. "You'll understand in time, but in the mean time you'll be going to this camp for people like you. You're leaving in the morning." I was left there confused and furious. The next morning I packed my bag with extra clothes; T-shirts, jeans, basketball shorts, everything that I would need. My dad drove all the way to Long Island, New York where he brought me to a set of white columns that seemed like an entrance to a camp. I looked at the top and saw the Greek lettering move around until it stopped and said "Camp Half-Blood". My dad turned to me, tears in his eyes. "Ryan, you know I love you very much, but this is what your mother wanted. I tried to let you stay but she wanted you to reach your full potential. Become a hero." "What do you mean by hero?" "You'll understand with time," he hugged me, pain filled his voice,"I love you," "I love you too," he got up and left, I turned around and saw a big horse man approach me and a boy around my age. Camp When I arrived at camp, there were so many campers just living here, training, learning, it was incredible to me. A big horse man approached me, along with a boy about my age, with this iconic twitch in his left eye. He had a blonde, shaggy hair and hazel eyes. "Welcome, new camper!" said the horse man. "I'm Chris, I'll be your guide around here for the next week or so," he seemed friendly. "I'm Ryan," I said, "Who's my mother?" "We do not know yet, until your mother claims you, you are known as unclaimed, you'll be living in the Hermes Cabin until we know who your mother is," The horse man seemed like he's been here a while, "Chris, take him around," he galloped away. "That's Chiron, a centaur. So what do you wanna know about?" A lot of questions filled my mind, "What am I? What is this place?" "Ah, you don't even know?" He chuckled, "You're a demigod, half-god, half-mortal. And haven't you noticed your ADHD? Dyslexia?" Now that he mentioned it, yes, I have noticed it. "Yeah, my dad wasn't it so I never really knew where I got it from," "Your brain is hardwired for ancient Greek, your ADHD keeps you alive in battle, raises your senses," "I've always noticed during football and boxing that I could sorta predict what was going to happen, then when it did happen I was there to counter it," "Athlete now? Maybe Nike..." "The shoe brand?" "Of course not," he looked at me as if I was stupid,"Nike, the Goddess of Victory, Speed and Strength." Something about that seemed to fit. I was the son of the Goddess of Victory, I liked the sound of it. "Follow me," he said, "We got war games tonight," Chris showed me around, showed me the archery ranges, the cabins, and the armory, where they fitted me with my own sword, balanced and everything. I was greeted by Chris' team captains for Capture the Flag, Percy and Annabeth. I told them of my athletics, they instantly wanted me on their team to go for the flag. I put my helmet with blue plume on, and rallied with the rest of my team, then the game began. Everyone charged, it felt like kickoff, but more deadly. I manage to slip behind their lines and reach the flag, but there were two guards in my way. It didn't take long for them to both notice me and corner me. I didn't know what to do, but as always when I was in a stressful situation, my instincts took over. One of them came in and tried to slash me, but I was too fast for him and went directly under him, swiping his feet from under him. The last one came shortly after, but I hit his sword so hard that I heard his wrist crack from the pressure. I ran for the flag, grabbed it and started to run back to my flag. I was being chased by so many red plumed campers, but I was too fast for them and flew right past them, straight to my flag. But as I saw my flag, four red plumed campers confronted me, but I had too much momentum and charged straight through them, they fell like bowling pins. I captured the flag. As I did, I noticed my skin was glowing again. Everyone looked at me in awe, once I realized they weren't staring at me, I looked above me and saw a laurel crown above me. Chiron came out from the woods. "Hail, son of Nike." By the end of the day this place felt like a home to me, I would enjoy spending time here. Quest to save Eros It was my third week here, my sword fighting has improved tremendously, and Chris became my best friend here. Though sometimes I did miss the field, the ring and the track, but I knew that this was much more worthwhile. I was called into the Big House where Chiron wanted me to speak to the Oracle. I went on up to the attic, the Oracle's dead body began to glow green and smoke started to come out of it. It spoke it in a dark, raspy voice. "The sons of Victory and Thieves will be the savior of Love, traveling a thousand miles west and meet an unsuspecting traveler, a foreigner, an ancient enemy to the Greeks." I went back down to Chiron and explained what the Oracle told me. "So, it seems like Eros is in trouble or Love itself, and you being the only son of Nike here right now, this is your quest," "Son of thieves? Someone of the Hermes Cabin, don't I get to pick?" "Yes, you do," "Chris," "I knew you were going to say him," "Is there something wrong?" "Not with Chris, it's more about this ancient enemy to the Greeks," "Have any idea who it's referring to?" "It could be referring to several things, Roman being the first thing to come to mind, but I'm not sure," "Roman Demigod?" "I don't even know if there are Roman Demigods," "I'll figure it out, I'm ready to go," "Go get Chris, tell him to get his stuff packed," I did exactly that; I packed my own stuff, my sword, nectar, ambrosia, extra clothes, mortal money, and some gold drachma that Chiron gave to me. I got Chris and watched him pack his stuff, sword, ripped gloves, and the other basic demigod essentials. We set out later that night, heading west, approximately 1000 miles. "If I calculated correctly, 1000 miles from Long Island is St. Louis," I said. "How are we gonna get to St. Louis from here?" "Walk?" "There's no way in Hell am I going to walk 1000 miles," "Then figure out a way to get us there," It almost seemed like he was praying, I was assuming to Hermes, asking for some help being the God of land travel. A few moments later, a Toyota Prius appeared; I honestly wasn't disappointed since the high gas mileage. I had my drivers license, so I took the drivers seat. I got in and it was top of the line, GPS built in. I turned the radio on and it instantly went to Linkin Park, by far my favorite band. I drove to the nearest gas station, bought a case of Red Bull, filled up a tank of gas that was in the trunk, and started driving. I drove for the next eight hours, drinking two of my eight Red Bulls in the process. I was forcing myself to stay awake at this point. I stopped at a stop sign and looked over to see Chris slumped over in the passenger seat asleep. I kept driving and stopped at a Hotel 6 and slept for the night. I woke up at around 9 in the morning, Chris was up and getting ready to go, in his day old clothes. I started the car and we started to make our way out of Pittsburgh. I looked at the mileage and saw 500 miles. Half way there, I thought. I was going to stop at a gas station for a bathroom break until I heard an explosion, followed by a monster howling. It was close, actually just down the street. Chris and I got out of the car and ran to where the howling was, and we found a girl, armored with gold chest plate and helmet and had a gold sword. She was fighting two drakons, but handling herself pretty well. "Definitely a Demigod!" yelled Chris. We both ran to her aid, but by the time we got there, there was only one drakon left. Chris and I helped her defeat it with ease. But right after she drew her sword on us. "Who are you!" she asked. "We're Demigods, like you," said Chris. "You don't look like any Demigod I've seen, or any legacy." I had no idea what she meant by legacy, "Yes, we're Demigods, and what do you mean you've never seen any like us?" "You're so undisciplined, look at his hair," She gestured towards Chris,"Not very Roman at all," "Hold up," Chris came in, "Roman?" An ancient enemy to the Greeks. "Graecus," "Uh, excuse me?" I said. "You're Greek aren't you," "Yes, we are. I'm Ryan, the Son of Nike," "I'm Chris, Son of Hermes, and you are?" "I'm Kara, Daughter of Mars," "That's Ares, right?" I asked. "To you, yes he is." "So what are you doing here," Chris asked. "I was on a quest with two other Demigods, but they were killed by those Drakons. I was on my way to save Cupid," Eros is Cupid, I thought,"We're on a quest to save Eros, which is our form of Cupid," "I guess we were meant to meet; to save Cupid, or Eros." "Yeah, I guess. Where were you heading anyway?" "I was going to St. Louis, my navigator turned out to be horrible at navigating and we got several miles off course," "We got a ride," "What is it?" "A Prius," She laughed a bit, "Really, a Prius?" She laughed again. "Hey, it was gift from my Father," said Chris. "Just come with us," She followed, still laughing about the Prius. Chris got in the back seat and started to lay down as if he was going to take a nap. Kara got in the passenger seat, took off her helmet and chest plate; she had long dark brown hair in a bun, and she a had a purple shirt on. I noticed on her shoulder had a tattoo saying "SPQR" with six stripes below it along with two crossed spears. She let her hair down and set her helmet aside. I started the car and drove to St. Louis. Whenever I was at a stop sign or a stop light, I noticed that she had strong hazel eyes, they just grab your attention when you look at them, I decided to break the silence and speak. "So...you're the daughter of Mars?" I was never good at talking to girls. "Yes, I am. It's pretty stressful sometimes, especially in war games, because everyone looks to the children of Mars for guidance on what to do. Most the time I don't know what to do. So you're the son of Nike, huh?" "The Goddess of Victory, Speed and Strength. It's not really much of burden as being a daughter of Mars, but it can get tiring," "How so?" "Sometimes, especially when I'm in a stressful situation, my instincts take over. I can't think, I just react. My reflexes take over my body and does basically everything perfectly, but I normally end up exhausted after it," "It must be one of your abilities you inherited from Nike. Most demigods have that, and whenever they use it, it drains their energy, sometimes to the point to when you pass out," "I haven't done that yet," "Give it time, when you learn to control it, it'll happen," "Probably. So where are you from?" "I'm personally from Chicago, my mom was a retired Lieutenant in the U.S. Army, I guess that's why Mars was attracted to her. How about you?" "I'm from Altoona. It's a city in Pennsylvania. Though I went to a private school rather than the public high school. My dad was a former Olympic Silver medalist for sprints, and a College Football athlete. My mom likes athletes, I guess," She cracked a smile. I did the same. "What's it like at your camp?" She asked. "It's great there," I began to tell her all about Camp Half-Blood and how it was basically the Ancient Greek way of a summer camp. But I stayed careful to not tell her where it was, unless she wanted to stay there. She's a great listener. "So what's your camp like?" I asked. "It's huge, like it's too big to even explain. We have about two hundred demigods and legacies. After they serve ten years, they're able to settle down, go to college within the city, and raise a family." It sounded like she wanted that. "What exactly is a legacy?" "It's a child of two demigods," I kinda felt dumb, "Oh, I should've known that," "It's alright, your camp probably doesn't have the opportunity to have legacies," "I would assume that," We continued to talk for several more hours. I didn't even noticed that it was almost dark outside, Kara decided to go to sleep shortly after we stopped in Springfield, totaling 14 hours driving. Chris was up and said he'll take the wheel until they get to St. Louis. I was relieved a bit, but still worried if monsters would find us at night and attack. I put my worries aside and crashed in the back seat. I've noticed over the past few weeks when I learned who I was, I was getting increasingly vivid dreams. This time was different; it was as if I was talking to my mother. She stood tall and strong, wearing a glittering sleeveless Greek dress, wearing a golden laurel on her head. "Mom?" I asked. "You do recognize me, Ryan," "I don't know what to say," I was confused more than ever. "You don't need to if you don't want to. You're humble in the presence of Victory. You just need to know that Roman, Kara, she's going to be important for this quest to succeed, and will have a big importance in your life personally." "How?" "To what response?" "Both?" "I can't answer both, but the Fates have allowed me to see a glimpse of your future, and I've seen this girl show importance in both this quest and later down in life," "A Roman will be important to me?" "I don't like as much as you do, my own son associating yourself with that, Roman, it doesn't bode well with me." I heard a large rumble. "I guess I overstayed my welcome," said the goddess, "Ryan, when you reach St. Louis, find my sword. The one who wields it doesn't deserve it anymore," She was gone, and I woke up to both Chris and Kara screaming. I instantly got up and saw that we were going a little over 80, speeding past several cars. Kara pointed outside the window. "Chris!" She yelled, "It's still behind us!" "Noooo, I haven't realized that Captain Obvious!" Chris snapped back with so much sarcasm. I looked behind us and saw a giant bronze bull with ruby red eyes. It was ramming into every car in it's way. I started to panic, "Can you go any faster, Chris!" I yelled. He gave me a thumbs up, and I could feel the speed rising from 80 to over 100 easily. "What is that thing?" I asked. Kara turned to me, "It's a Colchis Bull, extremely dangerous and tough to kill," she looked at Chris, "Can you go any faster?!" "Gods, both of you are on my case about this. I guess I can ramp it up to 150, if I can." "Do it!" Kara and I both yelled. I could feel the speed jump from whatever we were going to 150 in a heartbeat. I looked behind us and the Bull was just a figure in the distance. "Keep it going," I said. "Guys, look," Chris pointed towards a sign that read St. Louis 1/2 mile. ''Chris then got us off the highway and went down to the city. I saw the Gate Way arch. I felt drawn to it, as if it was calling me. "Chris, take us to the arch," "You got it," When Chris parked, it seemed like no one was there, empty. I imagined it would've been bustling with people everywhere, no one was in sight though. Kara decided to speak, "It's too quiet in here," "Tell me about it," I replied. We made our way to the elevator up to the top of the arch, but beside it was a door broken down leading into the ground. I could feel something radiating inside. "I'm going in," I said. "Not without me you're not," Kara replied. Chris was staring at the elevator. "I gotta go to the top," he said, I was confused, "What for?" "Hermes....he spoke to me saying that I'll have to face my fears alone at the top of the arch," he swallowed hard, "I have to do this," I understood. I put my hand on his shoulder, I could feel him shaking, "Good luck Chris," "You too," he went to the elevator. I looked at Kara, "You ready for this?" Her eyes screamed with confidence, "Always." I went in first, I couldn't see a thing but I knew where I was going; I could feel Eros down here. The air was very cold but it raised my senses. As we got closer, I could almost see where Eros was, he was radiating in the darkness, chained to the wall. "Cupid?" said Kara. "Eros, actually," the god responded, "My captor is still here," I turned around and saw a tall man, sword in hand, jump down and started to walk towards us. "Hello, brother," he spoke. Brother? "Who are you?" I asked. "Obviously our mother hasn't spoken of me," he scoffed, "I am Logan Fredricks, son of Nike." Logan readied his sword. I readied mine, Kara readied hers right next to me. "Kara, this is my fight. Get Eros out of here," She nodded in silence and went to free Eros. I stood ready to face Logan. When he swung first, I realized he had more strength than speed, I quickly dodged. I went in for a quick strike but I was knocked down instantly with so much force. I flew back, staggering to get my ground, but Logan was charging me. I rolled out of the way, struggling to get up. I noticed that he cut my lower left ankle. It felt like I was burning alive, my blood was boiling. I got up, and wondered, ''Why haven't my instincts taken over yet? I charged at him, but he slammed me down to the ground using the butt of his sword. I couldn't get up. "You see this mother!" he yelled, "Your 'favorite' child is now on the ground helpless!" I could hear Nike screaming in my ears, Get up! This is your chance to restore your honor! ''I felt like she was becoming my coach. I got up, he noticed and turned around. Finally, my instincts took over. He swung his sword, going for my head, I ducked, slashed his sword arm and left leg. He stumbled, but he was quick to get up. He charged at me, with everything he had it seemed, I hit him with the butt of my sword in his chest, and he fell face first. I was about to finish him, where I stopped myself. He looked up, "What are you waiting for? Do it!" "No," I said, "It wouldn't be right," I started to walk away. "You disgrace Nike!" He got up and sprinted at me. I turned and threw my sword into his chest, going out his back, but the hilt stopped it from going all the way through. He looked at his bloody chest, and collapsed to the ground. I picked up his sword, it was about a 3 foot long double edged Celestial Bronze sword, fitted perfectly in my hand, balanced and all. "You don't deserve this anymore," I turned and saw Nike. "I got your sword," "It's yours now, Ryan," she said, "This sword is meant for my most promising child, most of my children gloat when they taste victory. You on the other hand are humble when you taste victory, even when you have it in your grasp, you don't shove it in peoples faces like myself and your other siblings. It happens to be our fatal flaw." I looked at the sword, in wrote in Greek writing ''για τη νίκη ''which my brain instantly translated it to "For Victory" "For Victory," I said. "Flip the sword in the air," Nike commanded. I did as she commanded. I flipped it in the air and it came down to the palm of my hand as a coin. I read the heads side, and it said in Greek ''Όταν Νίκη απεργίες ''"When Victory Strikes", and on the back it said in Greek ''Κανείς δεν είναι ασφαλής ''"No one is safe". "It is yours to keep. It will always reappear if you lose it so don't worry, Ryan," "Thank you, mom," Kara and Chris came up to me. "Eros is free, Ryan," Kara said. She turned to Nike and bowed, "Nike," "Yes, Child of Mars, bow before me." Thunder boomed in the distance. "I'm afraid I must go, Zeus requests my presence," "Goodbye, mom," I said. "Until we meet again, my son," She disappeared. We all faced each other. "So what now?" Kara asked. "I guess we go back to our camps," Chris answered. "Even after all the fun we had?" I said. "I wouldn't call a lot of it fun," she scoffed,"but it was enjoyable," did she just blush? "Besides the Colchis Bull," said Chris, "That was a pain." We all started walking back to the car, talking about what was fun and what wasn't. And I enjoyed this group, yeah we had our differences but I feel like we all click together. We eventually decided to return to our camps, but just out of courtesy, I drove Kara back San Francisco. Chris wanted some alone time to think about what happened at the arch, so Kara and I walked down to where her camp was. We were talking about what we should do the next time we see each other, and she made it clear that we ''were going to see each other again. When we finally got to the river that bordered her camp, she stopped at the bridge. "Ryan," she said, "I'll never forget this," "I won't either," I promised. She walked up to me, I didn't realize how short she was compared to me, she wrapped her arms around my neck and kissed me. I put my arms around her waist and it felt like time has stopped. When we stopped, I had to catch my breathe. She turned to walk onto the bridge, turning her head in my direction and winked at me. Strengths/Weaknesses Strengths * Athletic(Speed/Agility/Strength) * Uses speed and agility to out maneuver his opponents * Instincts take over from time to time Weaknesses/Flaws/Fears * Fear of losing * Will do anything to accomplish a mission/quest * Has a long recovery time from fatigue * Doesn't have power with his attacks Appearance Category:Greek Demigods Category:Child of Nike